


No More Nightmares

by serandipity



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Katara has a nightmare about the Last Agni Kai, Nightmares, Oneshot, Zutara, Zutara Week, Zutara Week 2020, Zutara Week 2020 Day 6: Affirm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25182688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serandipity/pseuds/serandipity
Summary: "The nightmares happened every now and then."Zutara Week 2020 Day 6: Affirm
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	No More Nightmares

The nightmares happened every now and then.

Zuko would wake up in the middle of the night to her quiet sobs, her back to him. She always found her way out of his embrace and curled into herself when they happened. She made herself as small as possible. Even in the dark he could see her shoulders twitching and her fingers clutching at her sides, taut with tension.

And every time it happened, he would coax her back to him with gentle touches and whispers, soft but strong affirmations that she was here, with him. They were together, and each other’s.

He would not let himself fall back asleep until she did. He would be grateful for the absence of tension in her facial expression, cherished every single one of her even breaths. He would hold her to himself without any intention of ever letting her go.

* * *

That night, there had been a meteor shower in the sky. Zuko didn’t have to hear it from her to know that she was thinking the same thing as him—how similar meteors were to comets. She had stared at it for a while at their window before bed.

A few hours later, he broke the surface into consciousness at the sound of her scream.

“Zuko!”

He darted up instantly, head spinning from being snatched from sleep. His eyes took forever to adjust to the dark, seeing nothing but black and vague shapes. He only heard her sobs—he hated that they sounded so familiar.

Then he felt it.

It wasn’t painful, but it was shocking. She was clawing at him—her fingers were cold against his bare chest, frantically grasping at his skin with faint scrapes of her nails.

“Katara?” he croaked, blearily bewildered.

She was touching him like she was trying to prove he was there. He blinked and there she was, face contorted with pain, tears streaming down her cheeks as her eyes stared wide and unblinkingly at his chest. Each gasp for breath that was torn from her stabbed at his heart.

He didn’t understand until he traced her gaze.

She was grasping at his scar.

“Zuko,” she whimpered again. Her eyes squeezed shut and her entire face scrunched up with the force of a silent sob. He surged forward and grabbed her in his arms, tucking her head into the crook of his neck.

“It’s OK,” he murmured, over and over again. “Breathe, Katara.”

He rubbed her back soothingly, absorbing the torrent of sobs that followed. One hand of hers was fisted against his bare back; her other hand never left his chest, his scar.

The sobs died down. She sniffled against him, his skin becoming wet and sticky with her tears, but he didn’t care. He placed kisses on her temple, her hair, wishing he could draw every bit of pain from her into himself. When they were met with the silence of the night once again, he leaned them back against the pillows, cradling her head against him, still absentmindedly stroking her back.

Sleep was descending upon him again, eyelids drooping and the dark growing warm and comforting. He vaguely heard her whisper into his ear before he was enveloped by the darkness—

“I love you, Zuko.”

* * *

He carefully and unwillingly slid from their embrace the next morning, forced to prepare for his early meeting with his advisors. Zuko watched her sleep for a small eternity, running his thumb over the soft skin between her eyebrows. Zuko loved it when it wasn’t crumpled with the strain of a negative feeling. Some of her hair stuck to the dried tears on her cheeks, and he smoothed them behind her ears.

The young Fire Lord rose and walked towards his closet. He had long since refused the help of servants in the morning, preferring to spend them alone when he first started his rule—now, it was precious time in which he could be alone with Katara. (He had always hated other people dressing him, anyway.)

He had put on his dark trousers and pointed boots when his eyes slid over the bed, catching at the two brilliantly blue eyes staring at him.

Zuko froze for a second before instantly making his way towards her, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. “Good morning,” he murmured, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek.

She gave him a soft smile, and he felt his heart jump. Katara leaned into his touch, placing a kiss on his palm. His skin tingled and hummed at the sensation of her soft lips against his calluses.

They were silent, simply basking in each other’s company. Yet he couldn’t deny the slight tensity of his shoulders and he watched her for any kind of sign, tick, or flash in her eyes.

He didn’t have to watch for long. Her eyes quickly landed on his bare chest, at the star-shaped scar he had earned while saving her life.

Zuko grasped one of her hands in both of his. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She weaved their fingers together—her silent answer. She stared at the ceiling as she spoke softly. “It was just a nightmare, of that day. The Agni Kai. Everything happened as it had happened on that day…” she trailed off, blinking a few times before continuing. “I just hated reliving it, Zuko. I had never known such fear in my life,” she whispered, meeting his golden gaze. “And then—“ her voice faltered, “—it ended. Right when she started attacking me. And when I woke up all I could think about was you, and the lighting.”

Her eyes closed then, and her eyebrows furrowed—his heart sank. “For some stupid reason, I panicked. Like I couldn’t remember if I’d healed you or not. That’s why I…” she swallowed and didn’t continue.

He felt like his heart had broken a little more with each word she had spoken. He wanted to comfort her, to protect her from the nightmares that haunted her, but this one—it forced his own fears into his mind.

“I… I’ve had the same nightmare.”

She eyes shot open, and her hold on his hand tightened.

“It was the same thing—exactly what happened that day. Except I wasn’t—fast enough.” His throat tightened and suddenly went dry. He shook his head lightly as flashes of the nightmare blared in his mind. Blue lightning, Azula’s wicked laughter, his yell and her scream…

Katara sat up, not letting go of his hand. With her free one, she touched his scar—gentle and slow, unlike last night. “But you _were_ fast enough, Zuko. You saved me.”

He met her eyes again, and they were glittering—with unshed tears as well as insistence and affirmations. “You saved me,” she repeated, whispering it this time. Zuko inhaled sharply as she dipped her head down, brushing her lips against the top of his chest, trailing them down until she landed on his scar. She pressed several kisses there, nuzzled it with her nose. His heart beat almost painfully in his chest and he watched her, loving her and everything she was yet amazed at the fact that _she_ had had the nightmare last night, yet here she was, comforting _him—_

“No, Katara,” he murmured. She brought her head up and looked at him questioningly before he flattened both of her palms against his scar. “ _You_ saved _me_.”

He leaned forward and took her mouth in a kiss, lips soft but firm. He tried to pour everything into this kiss, tried to show her how much he loved her and how grateful he was that they were there, alive and together, sharing this moment. Katara tilted her head against him, meeting him with equal fervour.

When she pulled away for breath, she touched their foreheads together, both of them smiling as her eyes twinkled.

“We saved each other,” she whispered.

Zuko’s heart clenched as he took in the woman in front of him—the strong, amazing, passionate woman he shared his life with. She had saved him, no doubt—she had saved him in all ways a person can save another.

The meeting with his advisors was completely absent in his mind as they sat there together, basking in the warmth and strength of their love. He had no idea for how long—all he thought of was his scar and how in some way, he was glad he had it. And the affirmation that, no matter what the world threw at them, he had Katara. And Katara had him—all of him.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading :3 hope you enjoyed! comments and kudos feed my soul :3


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